Street-sweeper.



W. DUBOGQ. STREET SWEEPBR.

APPLIGA'IION FILED JUNE 12, 1913.

Patented Dec.29,'1914.

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W. D'UBOGQ. STREET SWEEPER.

APPL'IGATION FILED JUNE 12, 1913.

Patented D60. 29, 1914.

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WILLIAM DUIBOCQ, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STREET-SWEEPER.

weaves.

Application filed. June 12, 1913.

To (ZZZ 1071 am it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM DUBooQ, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Queens, county of Queens, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Sweepers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to street sweepers which both sweep and remove the dirt from the street during the same operation, and particularly concerns that type of sweepers shown in U. S. Letters Patent to A. H. Smith #688,296 and to WV. Brady #634,283, and the object of this invention is the devising of improvements upon such and kin dred constructions, as more fully appears in the following description and concluding claims.

The sweepers comprised in the above-mentioned Letters Patent operate in the usual way tosweep the dirt, for instance, from the curb toward the center but instead of sweeping it in the usual way in a long ridge, it is thrown from one end of the brush into buckets carried within the periphery of a revolving drum. While, with such devices, nearly all of the dirt is thrown into the buckets, nevertheless a small ridge is left behind resembling the slight indication of dust left along the edge of a dust-pan. This of course will be swept along during the sweep ing operation of the next strip of road-bed but when the last strip of road-bed is swept the dust-pan line, which is about the height of the thickness of the receptacle in contact with the road-bed into which the sweepings are thrown by the brush, is still left behind. While this is comparatively inappreciable in amount, it presents nevertheless a very objectionable appearance, and has detracted much from the practicability of such sweepers. In my invention I have abandoned attempting to get this dust-pan line into the buckets, but have provided means for promiscuously blowing this small amount of the sweepings about the street;

patents referred to the revolving brush is driven from the axle carrying the buckets. This axle also supports one of the wheels of the vehicle, while the wheel opposite is sup- Specification of itetters Patent.

Patented Dec. 29, 1914..

Serial in. wa es.

ported by another axle. The former wheel carries by far the greater load and added to this the work of driving the brush produces an unequal distribution of the work to such an extent that the sweeper has a tendency to skid and thereby produce an uneven edge of sweepings. This unevenness made it necessary for the operator to include a narrower strip of the unswept road-bed at his next sweeping operation in order to include the uneven edge, thereby decreasing the efficiency of the sweeper. The wheel carrying the buckets also forms the pivot about which the vehicle turns after it has swept the length of the street and is being turned around to sweep back over the next strip. During this pivotal action of the wheel the brush does not appreciably revolve, but instead drags along the road-bed without producing any effective sweeping. I have overcome this difiiculty and also the objectionable feature of skidding by driving the brush through transmission mechanism from the wheel opposite to that supporting thebuckets thereby more nearly equalizing the work of the two wheels.

The buckets as they revolve gradually assume inverted positions in order to permit them to drop their contents into a chute provided for that purpose, from which the sweepings fall by gravity to a retainer. During this gradual inversion of the buckets more or less of their contents fall from them before they reach the chute. Some of the sweepings also clings to the sides of the buckets after they have passed the chute, especially when the road has been previously sprinkled. I improve upon the former objectionable f ature by securing a side of each bucket at a suitable angle which aids in holding back the sweepings until the buckets are above the chute. iPositive means are also provided for cleaning each bucket before it leaves the space above the chute.

The various other objects of the invention will be more fully set forth in the following description of one form of mechanism embodying the invention which consists in the new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

Referring to the drawingsFigure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, of. a sweeper embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is an elevation, viewed from the back of the sweeper. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the rear portion taken on the line III-III of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow, and Fig. 4 is a fragmental sectional view on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3.

The vehicle in the main resembles that shown in U. S. Letters Patent No. 634,283 before referred to, and will therefore only be described in a general way as to those parts resembling the sweeper there shown.

The vehicle body 1 is supported on front wheels 2 and rear wheels 3 and 4. As shown, the sweeper is intended to be drawn by horses, but it is obvious that it could be a motor vehicle if desired, or it could be drawn by a motor vehicle instead of horses.

A brush 5 is revolubly mounted in brackets 6 supported by the body 1 from pivotal connections 7, whereby the brush may be raised and lowered from and to the roadbed and revolved within its bracket journals.

A shield or apron 8 is secured to the brackets 6 immediately in front of the brush to confine the sweepings between it and the brush. The brush is set at a suitable angle to the direction of travel of the vehicle to induce the sweepings to gradually Work toward the re'arwardly positioned end of the brush. A lever'9, pivoted to the body 1, is connected at one end to the shield 8 and has its other end positioned at a convenient distance from the seat 10 to facilitate its being raised and lowered by the operator. The wheel 3 is secured upon an axle 11 journaled in the side members 12- -13 of a side extension 14 of the vehicle body, the wheel 3 being the one intended to travel along the curb during the sweeping of the first strip and thereafter adjacent the portion of the street already swept.

A bevel gear 15 is secured to the axle 11 and engages a bevel gear 16 secured on a shaft 17 journaled in the extension 14 parallel to the brush 5. A shaft 18 is rotatably mounted upon a support 19 rigidly connected to the brackets 6 and is driven from the shaft 17 through the intervention of sprocket wheels 20 secured on the respective shafts and the chain 21. The shaft 18 is in driving engagement with the shaft 22 of brush 5 through the intervention of sprockets 2323 secured on the respective shafts and the chain 24.

, The wheel 4 issecured upon a stub axle 25 rotatably mounted in the side members 2627 of an extension 28 of the vehicle body 1 opposite the extension 14.

A cylindrical drum 29 is secured to the inner side of the wheel 4 and is open at its inner end to adapt it to receive the sweepings leaving the end of the brush which preferably extends slightly within the drum. The drum has a flaring mouth-piece 30 of suitable diameter to bring it in contact with the road-bed to facilitate the sweepings from the brush entering the drum.

Buckets 31 are formed within the drum by securing partitioning plates 32 to the walls thereof. These partitions are-inclined with respect to the head 33 of the drum to form buckets having acute angles at the juncture of the walls formed by the drum-head and plates. A chute34 is secured to the vehicle body in inclined position with its upper end extending within the drum near the top thereof and is of sufiicient width to include several of the buckets. The angularity given the plates 32 aids in holding the sweepings during the partial inversion of the'buckets until they reach a substantially inverted position above the chute, at which time the sweepings drop into the chute.

A plate is preferably secured in advance of the chute to aid in holding the sweepings within the buckets during their partially inverted positions before reaching the mouth of the chute and to deflect whatbuckets into the buckets below. The chute '34 is preferably turned up, as at 36, to check any sweepings that might otherwise be thrown by the buckets beyond the chute.

The rear end of the vehicle body beneath the chute is considerably lower than the remainder of the body to provide a floor 37 upon which are placed receptacles 38 for receiving the sweepings from the chute. The extension 14 has a flooring 39 which is hinged to be raised and lowered in order to easily reach the mechanism below. This flooring provides additional room for storing a supply of receptacles, so that as one is filled another can be placed beneath the chute. Other receptacles can be placed behind the drivers seat as suflicient room is provided there for that purpose.

A blower 40 is secured to the body 1 and connects with a line of piping 41 which ex tends to a point near the road-bed behind the brush and adjacent the flaring mouthpiece 30 of the drum. The piping terminates at this point in a nozzle 42. The blower is driven from the shaft 18 by means of the sprockets 50 mounted on the shaft of the blower and the shaft 18 respectively and the engaging chain 51. The sprocket on the blower shaft is loosely mounted and has secured to it the clutch jaw 52. A clutch jaw 53 is slidably keyed to the shaft of the blower for engaging the jaw 52 as the former is slid upon its shaft. 'The jaw is operated by a lever having an arm 54 engaging the jaw and pivotally mounted on a post 55 secured to the frame 1. The other arm 56 of the lever is suitably positioned to be in easy reach of the driver. I

A bracket 43 is secured to the body 1 for supporting the bucket cleaning device. This comprises a scraper 44' provided witha stem 45 rotatablymounted to swivel in a socket 46 extending from a sleeve 4'] loosely mounted on a shaft 48 secured to the bracket 43. The sleeve is spring-pressed against the partition and yieldingly held at the end of the shaft nearest the drum by means of a spring 49. While I have shown the receptacles 38 for receiving the sweepings they could be replaced by an endless carrier which could convey the sweepings from the chute to a wagon either at the front or rear of the sweeper and this receiving wagon could also serve as the motor for the sweeper if found desirable.

In operating the sweeper the driver raises and lowers the brush when deemed necessary by means of the lever9 in the usual manner. The blower is thrown out of operation by means of the lever arm 56 and the driver starts to sweep along the curb of the street continuing from one end to the other of the street. WVhere barrels or other similar receptacles are used for receiving the sweepings, an attendant may be stationed on the floor 37 to tend to the filling and removal of the receptacles. At the end of the street the driver turns the vehicle around and sweeps a strip along the opposite curb, the turning of the vehicle around operating to continuously rotate the brush and to sweep the dirt into the buckets. When the opposite end of the street is reached the driver again turns his vehicle around and sweeps a second strip along the opposite side of street swept. He continues in this Way and when the last strip of road-bed is swept he throws the blower into operation by means of the lever 56. This blows the dust-pan ridge of sweepings left behind on account of the thickness of the mouth-piece 30 promiscuously about the street.

During the entire sweeping operation the scraper et l contacts with each of the partitions 32. It first engages the partitions at their top edges and continues in contact over the entire surface of the partitions as the latter advance. The scraper swivels within the socket A6 which insures a uniform contact with the partition regardless of the angularity given it. The spring 49 serves to spring-press the scraper against the partition and also permits the sleeve 47 to be forced longitudinally along its shaft by the drum-head 33 as the partition in advancing swings the scraper about the shaft 48, the

longitudinal movement being necessary on account of the angularity given the parts. The scraper during its swinging movement from the full line to the dotted position shown in Fig. 3 scrapes the partition throughout its entire length, and moves any sweepings that might otherwise have clung to the bucket. The dotted position (Fig. 3) shows the scraper just leaving one of the partitions. It then automatically swings back and at the same time moves longitudinally due to the tension and torsional condition of the spring 49 into its first position against the next partition whereupon the scraping operation is repeated.

Although I have shown only one form of 'mechanism embodying my invention, it is obvious that various changes within the skill of the mechanic may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, provided the means set forth in the following claims are employed.

Having thus described my invention I clai1n 1. In a sweeping machine, a brush, a receptacle for receiving the sweepings from the brush having an edge adapted to contact with the surface being swept, and a blower having a nozzle at the rear of the brush and directed toward the edge of the receptacle at the point where it is adapted to contact with the surface being swept for blowing the sweepings finally left by the receptacle promiscuously over the surface.

2. In a sweeping machine, a brush, a receptacle for receiving the sweepings from the brush having an edge adapted to contact with the surface being swept, a blower having a nozzle at the rear of the brush and directed toward the edge of the receptacle at the point where it is adapted to contact with the surface being swept for blowing the sweepings finally left by the receptacle promiscuously over the surface, and means for throwing the blower into and out of operation.

This specification, signed and witnessed this 23rd day of May, A. D. 1913.

NM. DUBOCQ.

Witnesses M. J. COOPER, SARA A. THORNTON.

Copies of this patent may-be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents, Washington, D. G." 

